Jennifer Herrema’s trio returns with Bad Bunch, their first LP since 2014’s Electric Brick Wall, on a new label home.
Black Bananas have a new label and a new record on the way. Today, June 2, the trio led by Jennifer Herrema confirmed they’ve signed with Fire Records, and later this year they’ll release Bad Bunch, their first album in over a decade.
The group’s last LP, Electric Brick Wall, came out in 2014 via Drag City. Since then, Black Bananas haven’t disappeared. They played festival sets at Freakout, Format, and Unhinged, dropped occasional jam sessions on YouTube, and last year launched a regular show on NQRA Radio. Herrema herself stayed visible, too. She appeared on the Avalanches’ 2016 album Wildflower and curated a soundtrack for a 2015 art installation that pulled in contributions from MGMT, Kurt Vile, and Hot Chip.
But a full-length Black Bananas project felt distant. The Fire Records deal changes that. The label has a track record of housing bands with ragged edges and long arcs, which suits Herrema’s instincts. No release date has been set for Bad Bunch yet. The title alone, though, suggests a certain continuity with the unruly fuzz and twisted rock logic that’s defined her work since Royal Trux.
The wait wasn’t silence. Just a low rumble that’s finally turning into something you can hold.
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ROMBO Editorial Staff
The collective voice behind ROMBO Magazine’s news, reviews, features, and cultural coverage.
